Still hardly a drop off water in NY. I slept in this morning seeing as how I only have 20 miles planned. I am able to hike 3-3.5mph easily when in good health so I was in no rush to get up. I dont think I hit the trail until 9am judging by the suns position in the sky. I cannot remember whether i mentioned this or not previously but back in Manchester Center, VT i sent my tarp tent and 20 degree down sleeping bag home. I purchased a 50" x 60" fleece blanket from Walmart and a silk sleeping bag liner from EMS. Overall it saved me about 4 lbs and a lot of room in my backpack. It has been so warm at night doing this minimalist thing is really paying off. On cool and windy nights i still sleep in every piece of clothing i own though to stay warm... including my rain jacket. I am hoping I can get by without my sleeping bag for another 3 weeks. I enjoy sleeping in shelters so I am not planning on getting my tent back. This limits me though as to how many miles I can do based on shelter separation mileage. There are no NOBO thru hikers any more so I have no competition for shelter space. To be honest there aren't many people at all any more now that school is in session and labor day is gone. I think today I passed by a total of 6 day hikers thats it. It is gonna get very lonely very quickly. I haven't seen another SOBO in over 3 days. Today I only did 20 miles. I am staying at the Greymoor Spiritual Life Center ballpark picnic shelter. It is owned by the St. Francis of Assisi Friars i believe and they let hikers sleep in the picnic shelter for free. There is an outdoor cold water shower (all i did was wash off my head because i dont have a towel and its was cooling down for the night so i didn't want to get cold), porta podies, an outdoor sink, and water spigot. The best part though which I was not expecting is there is a power outlet!!! I was almost out of battery power i have gone so long without being able to fully charge up. I have been super conservative with my phone and kept it off most of the time. I was actually going to get a motel room here in the next couple days because i was at the point i had no juice left. So now I should be able to make it to Deleware Water Gap, Pennsylvania before i stay anywhere. There is an actual hostel there which will be the first since Vermont. The "see how long Sharkbait can go without a real shower or laundry marathon" continues! I reek by the way. I think when i get there it will have been 2 weeks without shower or laundry. I have been and will continue to be taking it easy on miles due to the shelter hopping situation and mail magic i have coming. The post offices have very limited hours they are open so i have to time it perfect when i get there. Tomorrow morning i get one in Fort Montgomery, NY and on Monday morning I get one in Unionville, NY. After that i dont have any scheduled for a few towns so I will be able to crank up the miles again hopefully. I make it sound like mail magic is hindering me but its not i really appreciate those of you that are sending me food or are expressing interest in doing so in the future. One last thing, I appreciate any prayers for my blisters on the side of my feet . They are starting to heal i think and i have actually been able to walk the past 2 days without being in misery from the pain for the most part. I will continue to treat them until they are gone and hopefully that will be soon.
Good for the Friars. They are the ones that taught me in High School. Prayers help so glad the blisters are getting better Granny
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